'American Idol' Winner Phillip Phillips Almost Quit the Show to Get Kidney Surgery

The singer, who beat out Jessica Sanchez on 'Idol' finale, admits he nearly had to drop out of the competition because of his health issues, but his doctors helped him through it.

Phillip Phillips has opened up about his hard road before he was crowned the winner of "American Idol" season 11 on Wednesday, May 23. After his father revealed that he underwent not less than eight surgeries during his time on the show, the 21-year-old guy admitted that his kidney stone issues almost forced him to quit the singing competition.

"It was rough at times and there were a couple of times I thought about going ahead and getting out and getting the surgery done... I came close to almost dropping out to get the surgery done," so the son of a pawn shop's owner shared. "But I had a lot of great doctors and a lot of great people who helped me out through it. I'm blessed to have that."

Beside the "great doctors", Phillip had his longtime girlfriend to thank for helping him get through the show. "She was so excited for me and she helped me out a lot through this," he said. "Hopefully she'll be able to come on tour with me. It'd be cool to have her there. She's supported me throughout all of this. I love her to death!"

Before embarking on the "Idol" tour, Phillip will go under knife to reconstruct his kidneys. The Georgia-born guy, however, assured fans that he will recover in time to hit the road as stating, "I'm not really missing anything. I'll be 100 percent by then, so I'm excited! I should be good to go by tour."

When commenting on rumors that Jennifer Lopez may not return to the show next season, Phillip said it "would be horrible." He hopes the female judge will reprise her role because "she knows her stuff. She cares about each one of us. She's a great woman and hopefully she stays."

Despite all the buzz surrounding Phillip's coronation, the "Idol" finale posted the lowest-rated season closer for the FOX reality show. The second night of the finals delivered a 6.4 adults 18-49 rating, dropping about 30% from last year.